The Pacific Perplexity
by Political Blonde
Summary: Los Angeles becomes the backdrop of a less than amicable reunion of our favorite sleuths as they converge on Hollywood in pursuit of lost friends, celebrity stalkers, and organized criminals. Sequel to "The Mystery Mansion." Highly recommended that you read that story first.


**A/N**

Hello readers,

So I am finally starting my sequel to "The Mystery Mansion." For those of you who have not read my previous fic, I highly recommend checking that one out before starting on this one. As always, I do not own Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys (although I do wish), but I do own the King Twins for better or for worse. Anyways, I know "The Mystery Mansion" left some tense and unanswered questions facing our favorite sleuths so hopefully you enjoy where I am taking those answers. Anyways, read and review. I love it when you do. :)

Much love,

Political Blonde

* * *

**Chapter 1: Los Angeles**

_**4 Years Ago**_

_Seventeen-year-old Joe Hardy ran a hand through his blonde hair and flashed a group of girls a dazzling smile as he sat outside the Los Angeles Café with his elder brother Frank. "So, when exactly is Dad supposed to meet us?" he asked the dark haired boy as he waved back at the girls who were now glancing and giggling in his direction. _

_Frank sighed as he played with his straw. "You would know if you had been paying attention to me when I was talking to you instead of flirting with those girls."_

"_Aw, come on Frank, live a little. We're in California; we might as well enjoy the view." Joe leaned back in his chair appraising yet another group of bleach blonde girls in tiny shorts and tanks laughing across the street. Joe chuckled to himself as he processed their far too dark tans before moving his gaze to the left. His grin grew, "Take for instance those two girls over there. Rather cute don't you think?" Joe waved at the two teens who were crossing the street with shopping bag laden hands. _

_Frank glanced up at the two young women and nodded. "Yes, Joe, they're lovely now can you focus."_

_Joe sighed and turned to face his brother shaking his head. "You are such a joy killer, you know that?"_

_Frank met his eyes with a pointed gaze. "Yes, well you're taken, you know that?"_

"_Hey, Van knows me and she understands I like to have my fun. It is why we're so compatible. Hey check it out those girls are heading our way." Joe stood up and brushed off his T-shirt and shorts before smiling at his brother. "Now, stop being a spoilsport and have a little fun. Dad won't be here for another thirty minutes."_

_Frank rolled his eyes, "If you knew why did you just ask me?"_

"_Just messing with you big brother. Perks of being a year younger and wiser." Joe then winked and looked up before approaching the two girls. One was tall and thin with titan hair and a blue cotton sun-dress, the other, slightly shorter and more plump with blonde locks and a pink top with white shorts, but both were attractive. The shorter one was pointing at something on a menu outside the café door._

"_Oh, Nancy, look they've got a low-fat turkey club. It's perfect for my diet."_

_The titan haired girl laughed pleasantly. "What diet Bess? You just got a pretzel two shops back."_

_The girl who Joe assumed was named Bess waved off the other girl's comment and continued to look at the menu. "I'm on vacation. I've got to try the local food."_

"_You can get turkey clubs in River Heights, besides I thought you wanted to see the Walk of Fame." The blonde girl looked up from the menu and glared prompting Nancy to amend her stance. "Fine; I guess it is time for lunch and the café menu looks- hey!" the taller girl suddenly shouted as a man in a dark suit and sunglasses suddenly ripped the other girl's purse off her arm before turning and grabbing for her purse as well. The titan haired girl latched onto the strap of her purse and tugged back as the man yanked hard. The other girl had by now turned around with a startled scream and was staring at her friend in shock._

_The man gave another tug and the strap of the purse popped in the girl's hands. The man wasn't phased and immediately took off running down the street with only a brief comment over his shoulder. "Thanks for being so cooperative!"_

_Joe was off in an instant and he heard his brother shout behind him. The titan haired girl had also kicked off her heels and was chasing down the purse-snatcher. Joe pushed by a woman laden with shopping bags careful to keep his eyes on the girl ahead of him. She rounded the corner pushing through an angry crowd of tourists just moments behind the purse snatcher and Joe lost sight of her momentarily, but as he too pushed through the disgruntled group he again caught sight of her blue cotton dress._

_The man was feet ahead of her plowing through unsuspecting pedestrians with unrelenting speed. Joe watched as the man skirted past a shop door just as it swung open into the crowd. The titan haired girl was not so lucky and careened full speed into the glass with a sickening thud before crumpling to the ground. "Shoot." The man barely glanced over his shoulder before continuing down the street. Joe began to slow his pace as he approached the young woman. She was pushing herself slowly up from the pavement one hand firmly pressed to her head. Joe knelt beside her putting a firm hand on her shoulder. "Ma'am don't sit up. You hit that door pretty hard."_

"_Don't worry about me; I've been through worse. But my purse…" the woman muttered through gritted teeth. _

_Out of the corner of his eye Joe caught another figure dropping to a crouch beside him. "He got away with it," Frank's voice chimed in. "I tried to keep after him, but the crowd all closed in to see the aftermath of your crash."_

"_Speaking of which…" Joe looked up at the crowd that had circled around them. Many had their cellphones trained on the young lady. "How about one of you gets this lady some ice instead of taking pictures."_

"_Oh my god Nancy! What happened?" The shorter blonde girl from before was pushing her way through the crowd a pair of white heels in hand. Her face was bright red and she was panting heavily from running. _

_Nancy glanced up, finally pulling her hand from her head to reveal frustrated blue eyes. "I'm fine Bess. I just had a bit of a run in with the door here, but he got away with our purses." Nancy went to push herself up the rest of the way while Frank offered a steadying hand. "Thanks for trying to chase him down for me—"_

_Joe watched as Nancy's eyes met Frank's and he saw the first grin of the day peaking at the corners of his mouth. "Frank. Frank Hardy. And this is my brother Joe."_

"_Well I'm Nancy and this is Bess." She smiled warmly as she retrieved her shoes from Bess. "Again. Thank you for lending me a hand, but Bess and I better start making our way back to our hotel. It's probably best if I take it easy. Plus I'll need to call my dad since that goon took off with our wallets and phones."_

_Frank shook his head. "You're lucky nothing worse happened running after him like that."_

_Joe smirked. "Didn't your dad tell you not to run after strange purse snatching men?"_

_Bess sighed and rolled her eyes. "Purse snatching strangers should be glad nothing worse happened to them. A purse snatcher is old hat for Nancy. She's a super detective," She added defensively._

_Joe's brows rose as he gave a sideways smirk to Frank. "A detective hey? Well isn't that coincidental."_

_Bess cocked her head. "Oh how so?"_

_Joe flashed her his famous smile as he ran a hand through his hair. "Well, it just so happens my brother and I are super detectives as well. Me more so than him, but Frank does his best to keep up."_

_Frank lightly shoved his younger brother. "Hardly Joe. But really, you're a sleuth too?"_

_Nancy nodded, "Yep. I got my first taste of mystery a few months ago, and now I am hooked. Not everyone gets it."_

_Joe didn't think it was possible, but Frank somehow managed to grin wider. "Us too. We're meeting with our dad in a bit, but we're free this evening. Maybe we can grab a bite together, and talk about cases."_

_Bess groaned. "Oh no Nancy, we're supposed to be on vacation. You know what this means. Three times the sleuths means three times the likelihood that we wind up on another mystery."_

**HBNDKTHBNDKTHBNDKT**

**Present Day**

Lexi rolled her eyes as she rounded the corner of her street and took in the sight of Claire standing over two boys she vaguely recognized as juniors from their high school. Her sister had her hair pulled up into a high blonde ponytail much like her own, but while Lexi plodded down the sidewalk in worn sandals and a Hard Rock T-Shirt, her sister shined in a denim shorts and a bright orange bikini top. She had one thumb hooked through a belt loop and was leaning against the side of their brand new white minivan while the two boys fumbled around in some boxes nearby. She was gesturing animatedly with her free hand and even from several houses down Lexi knew from her demeanor that her sister was in full flirtation mode.

Claire suddenly turned her head towards the street and pushed herself off the van with clear enthusiasm. "Lexi my bestie you're back! I can't wait to show you what I've been working on with Dylan and Jacob." The two boys emerged from their boxes with two piles of pink fur and made brief nods of hello towards Lexi before heading to opposite sides of the van.

Lexi set her grocery bags down on the pavement as she reached their driveway and cocked her brow at Claire. "It looks to me like you've raided a Hello Kitty store."

Claire crossed her arms and shook her head. "Don't be silly Lexi. I've been taming the monster."

"You mean our car?"

"No. I mean the monstrosity of a granny van that our parents thought would be a safe ride for us." She briefly looked towards their house with a mild pout. "But I am doing the best I can to sort this out properly. Dylan and Jacob are just finishing the seat covers, but you've got to come see the rest. I have been dying to show you the touch ups I've made."

"Those pink creatures were for our seats?"

Claire nodded enthusiastically. "Mhhm, and that's not all. Come see. Come see." She suddenly grabbed Lexi's arm and drug her towards the open van doors. "See, I've added pink seat covers to all those drab grey seats we had. Oh, and the auto store had these bedazzled covers for the gear shift. I also bought some fuzzy die for the mirror, and of course a matching steering wheel cover."

Lexi smiled tightly as she contained her groan. "Don't you think there might be too much pink?" Her eyes suddenly caught sight of the passenger cup holders. "And are those candles in our van?"

"Of course there isn't too much pink. I had to counter all the soccer mom vibes this thing was oozing. And yes, they're pomegranate scented. The gift shop next door was going out of business so they were on clearance. We won't light them of course; it'd just be silly to light candles in our van, but they smell wonderful on their own."

"You are aware that one day in our summer heat and they will likely melt."

"Maybe, but just don't touch them and they will harden up just fine once we turn the ac on. Oh and look over here; I added-. Oh shoot, one minute sis," Claire suddenly cut off as her shorts began blaring music. She hastily slid out her cell phone and put it to her ear. "Oh, hey June! What's up? I've just been showing Lexi those changes I told you about." Her expression suddenly grew serious. "Calm down June. I can't understand you."

Lexi met her sister's eyes with concern. June had been one of their best friends since the King family had first moved to Charleston nine years ago, but she and Claire were particularly close. They had both been elected to class office throughout high school, had both participated in prom committee the previous year, and they were both applying to the same colleges for theater. In fact, if memory served her correctly June was currently in Los Angeles visiting her older brother and auditioning at California State.

Claire's face was grave even as she tried to reassure her friend over the phone. "Don't leave the room June. You can't help Brian if you're found too. Is there a closet or somewhere to hide?" Her voice was calm and Lexi knew her sister was struggling to think through whatever situation her best friend was in. "Good. I want you to move as quietly as possible and get into the closet. Try and put yourself behind some clothes, anything that can give you cover. Then I want you to give me your brother's address as quietly as possible. I am going to have Lexi call the Los Angeles Police Department."

Lexi reached into her own pocket and extracted her cell, hastily pulling up her internet and searching for the number to the police. "June," Claire suddenly screamed. "June bite him, fight do whatever you have to. June! June! June!" Claire pulled the phone away from her face with a horrified expression. "Lexi. Lexi, I think June's been kidnapped. Her brother came back to his apartment and was acting all weird, and then these men in suits-. She said they came in and started beating him up. I told her to hide in the closet, but the line went dead. I need you to call the police. I…we...we need to get to Los Angeles."

**HBNDKTHBNDKTHBNDKT**

Nancy glanced at herself in the mirror and felt her heart leap into her throat as she caught her reflection. The ivory silk hugged her curves perfectly in a series of wraps and ruching before cascading outward in flowing waves just below her knees. The sweetheart neckline was accentuated by a series of diamonds that made Nancy look every bit the elegant adult. Her titan hair was dyed a deep auburn, curled, and pulled to the left, secured by a series of emerald emblazoned bobby pins, so that it fell and framed her face in elegant tendrils. So this is what it felt like to be a bride. Nancy pivoted on the runway, glancing over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the carefully synched bodice. Nancy had worn a number of beautiful dresses on her cases, but there was nothing that could compare to this wedding dress.

"Well aren't you a vision of Hollywood beauty! It absolutely suits you; the color, the fit are positively grand," A portly older woman had emerged from the back room of the bridal salon. From head to toe she wore black, complete with a long beaded black shawl. "I've had my ladies working around the clock to finish the alterations. I have to say I had my doubts you could lose all the baby weight in such a short few weeks, but you look amazing." She walked up behind Nancy and their eyes met in the mirror. "Is it everything you dreamed of Ms. Carlisle?"

Nancy took one last glance at her reflection before turning to face the older woman. "Well Francine," Nancy started, her voice oozing southern charm, "I think that it'll be just perfect, but as you know I really must make sure my mother approves. If you could just be a doll and fish my phone from my bag I'd like to call her real quick. She'll be dying to hear about me all gussied up."

"Of course Ms. Carlisle," she smiled walking over to Nancy's bag. "Would you like me to draw the curtains for you? I've tried to shoo them all morning."

Nancy glanced to her left where a large window displayed the street outside the shop. A number of photographers were pushing against two large body guards each vying to get the front page shot of the formerly squeaky clean television star Rebecca Carlisle in her wedding dress. Nancy took a deep steadying breath. She wanted to scream yes the windows should be closed, that she couldn't stand all the in-your-face unyielding attention she was getting, but it didn't matter what Nancy wanted. She had a client to please. She smiled and twirled on the wedding floor. "No thank you Francine. They're just tryin' to make my fans happy. They've been waitin' to see this dress for nine months so I think they deserve a show."

"Of course, of course," Francine cooed as she handed Nancy her phone.

Nancy smiled and quickly dialed Rebecca's number. "Tell me how I look Nancy."

"Why hello to you too mother. I've got it on and it looks…" Nancy honed her inner bridal joy as Francine stood across the room eyeing her expectantly, "fabulous. Amazing really."

"Tell her about the diamonds. They really make this dress one-of-a-kind," Francine whispered excitedly from her corner.

Nancy tightened her grin, "It has perfect diamonds, and the ruching is quite lovely. I think you'd really love it." Francine nodded vigorously in agreement.

"And the silk. Remember it is the finest in the world."

"Oh yes and the silk is a masterpiece."

"Nancy, cut the crap," Rebecca cut in irritably. "You know I just want to know how it fits. Do I look skinny? Do I look like a young Hollywood star pre-baby scandal?"

"Oh yes. I look super skinny."

"How skinny?"

"Like…" Nancy fished for some comparison in the room. As she glanced outside over the heads of the ravenous paparazzi she caught sight of an older woman making her way across the street towards the building. She was pulling at a small brown Pomeranian with her one hand while her bright red purse swung freely on her opposite elbow. She was deep in conversation on her cellphone. Suddenly out of nowhere a man in a black suit stumbled into her knocking the woman and her purse to the pavement. He knelt down extending his hand to help the poor woman before snatching her purse off the ground and making a mad dash towards the alleyway between the buildings.

Instinct kicked in. "Hey mom, I'll call you back in a bit," Nancy said before hastily hanging up the phone. In a matter of moments she had kicked her heels off and made a mad dash for the back door to the shop. Francine yelped behind her, and rows of sequins and bedazzlement lit up in front of her as the paparazzi went wild. Rebecca wouldn't be pleased. Nancy threw her body against the door setting off the fire alarm just in time to hear a sickening crunch as the thief ran headfirst into the metal door. "Got you," Nancy murmured triumphantly. She pushed the door open further as footsteps faded further along the alley. Nancy stepped out into the evening and glanced to her left just in time to see a black cuff fading around a corner between two brick buildings. Suddenly uncertain of her conquest, Nancy turned to face the man crumpled on the ground.

His brown hair was tinged with blood near his temple, and his white button up shirt and blue jeans were covered in grime from the alleyway. Nancy cringed inwardly as she realized she hadn't just pummeled the thief. Nancy attempted to awkwardly crouch in the fitted wedding dress awash with guilt, "I am so sorry sir. I just saw that woman outside get robbed and I was trying to hit the thief." She was suddenly aware of Francine screaming behind her and the paparazzi flashing eagerly from the entrance to the alley. _Just wonderful_. Nancy shifted in an attempt to keep the dress from being dirtied while she assessed her victim. "Don't stand up. Just let me get a look at your head. I—"

Nancy's voice caught in her throat as her door victim tilted his head up and she got her first good look at his face. It was paler than she remembered. His face was beginning to take on the harder lines of a young twenty-year old, but despite his slightly dazed expression and over a year of not speaking she recognized him right away. He was cradling his forehead as he attempted to focus through the pain of being abruptly halted by a large metal door, and Nancy was suddenly very conscious of her heart pounding in her chest and a nervousness she hadn't felt in some time. _Frank._

Since they had met four years ago Nancy had regularly kept in touch with the Hardy Boys, particularly Frank. She had even harbored a not-so-secret attraction for him that had been both frustrating and tantalizing as they shared case after case, but that had all changed in England. Nancy had been emotionally exhausted from her quick and ill-fated engagement to her hometown sweetheart Ned Nickerson. Seeing Frank for the first time as a single woman had sent her heart racing to territory she had only rarely treaded before, but it was not meant to be. Nancy no longer had Ned, but Frank still had Callie.

_"You look beautiful, Nancy. You really do."_

_Nancy grimaced as she realized she could no longer hold back her tears. One tear broke through her lashes sliding down her cheek and splashing on to her hand. She looked up at the ceiling and balled her fists in a futile attempt to rein in her emotions. "Tell Callie," she broke off as a sob threatened to escape her lips, "tell Callie I said hello." Two tears trickled slowly down her cheeks._

_Frank moved to take a step forward, but Joe again caught his arm. "C'mon, Frank."_

_"I'm sorry, really I am," Frank whispered causing Nancy to finally utter a strangled sob._

_She nodded slowly and took a deep breath before lowering her face to give Frank a forced smile. "I know; that's why it hurts so much." With that said Nancy turned on her heel and headed for the bathroom closing the door behind her._

Nancy knew she was wrong; she knew she had no claim to Frank Hardy, but she had desperately needed to put that door between them before she had said something worse. In that moment she was angry with herself, angry with Ned, and jealous of Callie to a degree that made her ashamed. Frank had called several times in the month or two after, but Nancy couldn't answer the phone. She was too embarrassed by her behavior. She had spoken to Joe a few times since England, but there was a silent understanding between them. She wouldn't ask about Frank and he wouldn't bring his brother up.

Nancy shook herself from her daze. She could already see a knot rising on Frank's forehead. "Ice," she whispered before abruptly remembering her cover. "Francine darling," she continued a little louder in her faux southern accent, "get the poor man some ice and call the police."

Frank's eyes suddenly focused at the sound of her voice and she saw a flash of recognition as his brown eyes met her blue ones before continuing down to take in her attire. His expression became unreadable as he recognized the wedding dress and Nancy knew she had to warn him before he blew her cover. "And someone check on the poor woman who got robbed; you've got enough shots of Rebecca Carlisle to grace the covers of your magazines for a month."

* * *

**A/N**

Hello readers,

So that is Chapter 1. How many of you got really excited imagining Nancy wearing a wedding dress? I know I did. :) Well, I hope the start isn't too disappointing. I know some of you would have preferred I focus just on Nancy and Frank, but there were also many of you who let me know you greatly enjoyed the dynamic between all 5 characters so I am bringing back Lexi and Claire. I've got some ideas I am really excited about for this one, especially pursuing the Frank and Nancy dynamic, but I promise that like my previous fic I will pursue character relationships alongside mystery development. Anyways, let me know what you think, and I will update as soon as I can.

Much love,

Political Blonde


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